This report, in Portuguese, looks at case studies from the Brazilian states of Rondônia and Pará. It demonstrates how rapid deforestation and related processes of environmental degradation are associated with the livelihood requirements of various low-income social groups, as well as with the quest for profit by other groups. Rural inequalities, poverty and economic crises elsewhere in Brazilian society have played important roles in causing deforestation. So too have government land settlement policies, infrastructural development, tax and credit incentives for crop production and cattle raising, and inflation and speculation. Certain Indian groups have been particularly affected by deforestation, and their livelihood and cultures threatened despite their attempts to resist land invasions and to seek wider support. The report concludes that the Brazilian government has no clear strategy to deal with deforestation, as on the one hand it has provided incentives that promote forest clearance, and on the other it has established protected areas such as indigenous and extractive reserves.